


Flower Crowns and Sunlit Meadows

by ExtraSteps, xTarmanderx



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Human AU, M/M, Pining, cute boys are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 10:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17423879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtraSteps/pseuds/ExtraSteps, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xTarmanderx/pseuds/xTarmanderx
Summary: Every day Liam comes to class is the same. He sits down beside Theo Raeken, they pass notes, and he tries not to fail math. But one day when Theo comes into class exhausted and can’t take the notes, Liam gets in over his head.





	Flower Crowns and Sunlit Meadows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maraudersourwolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maraudersourwolf/gifts).



> This is for Des, who we love dearly. Happy birthday! xx

Liam walked into the classroom under the sharp glare of the teacher, wilting slightly at its power. He was late, again. But mornings were hard for Liam. It didn’t seem to matter how many alarms he set or what time he went to bed, he always slept in and then rushed around frantically to get ready for school in ten minutes flat.  
  
“Sorry,” he muttered, same as always, slipping into his usual seat, keeping his head down as he pulled out his book and pen. He waited until Mr Adams turned back to his lecture before glancing at his partner.  
  
“Hey,” he whispered. Theo gave him a wan smile. He looked, if possible, even more exhausted than Liam. His skin was pale and there were bags under his eyes, eyes that were struggling to stay open. “Hard game last night?” Liam asked sympathetically.  
  
Theo nodded. “Yeah,” he sighed.  
  
By rights, they shouldn’t be friends. Theo was on the football team, the star wide receiver, one of the jocks that walked these halls like he owned it. He was cool and confident, attractive with bright green eyes and a quick smile, broad shoulders and tanned skin, and boy could he fill out those compression tights that football players wear. Not that Liam had ever gone to one of his games, but he’d seen him at practice on occasion.  
  
Liam, on the other hand, was on the lacrosse team, who were more like the laughing stock of the school. He’d played lacrosse ever since his step-dad had taught him how, and loved the physicality of it, and the way a single flick of the ball could change the outcome of a whole match.  
  
Since he’d moved to Beacon High and joined the team, he wasn’t too humble to admit, they had started winning more. They were on the up, or so he hoped. He had his eye on the captaincy for next year when Scott left for college, and so he worked hard to establish his place on the team.  
  
But for now, being on the lacrosse team meant being a social pariah, and being a social pariah meant that the Theo’s of the world generally pretended that the Liam’s of the world didn’t exist.  
  
To be fair, their friendship didn’t really exist outside of the Maths classroom. Theo might nod at him when they passed in the halls, but that was about it. Liam didn’t push his luck. The fact that someone that attractive was even willing to acknowledge his existence was more than he’d expected.  
  
It had started on his very first day. He’d walked in, early only by grace of his mother bullying him out of bed, taking a seat right at the very back corner of the room by the window. From there, he’d been able to see the lacrosse field, and soon lost track of time looking outside and daydreaming. He didn’t notice the room filling up until someone had sat down next to him, acknowledging him with a grunt.  
  
Mr Adams had walked in a minute later, declaring their current spots as their seating assignment for the semester. Liam had turned, for the first time, to look at the person sitting next to him, almost choking.  
  
Green eyes looked him up and down before shuttering, giving away nothing.  
  
“I’m Theo,” he’d said.  
  
“Liam,” he replied.  
  
“You’re new,” the other boy observed. Liam had nodded, blinking as he tried to think of something else to say. But before he could, the lesson had started.  
  
Over the term they’d gotten to know each other a bit until Liam could confidently say that they were friends. Most of the time they wrote notes to each other on a ripped off piece of paper that lay between them, casually slipped underneath a notebook whenever the teacher walked past and pocketed after the lesson. Liam had a whole stack of them at home sitting on his desk. Just seeing them there always sent a warm fuzzy feeling through his chest, one that he didn’t poke at too hard. It was friendship, that’s all. It was all he could hope for. Anything else just set him up for heartbreak.  
  
Mr Adams turned towards the board, starting to write up some problems for the lecture that Liam just completely ignored. He started copying them down into his notebook.  
  
“So what happened?” He asked Theo in a low voice.  
  
“Game went into overtime,” Theo grumbled. He yawned, jaw stretching open so wide that Liam winced. He shut it with a click, rubbing at his eyes, and he felt a pang of worry. Theo hadn’t even opened his notebook.  
  
“I’ll take the notes today,” he assured him quietly. Theo mumbled his thanks and something about resting his eyes, pillowing his head in his arms. His face was turned towards Liam, dark eyelashes dusting his cheeks, and he had to look away with a light flush, forcing himself to concentrate back on the whiteboard.  
  
In retrospect, Liam realized that promising to take the notes was always going to backfire. It wasn’t that he was incapable of taking notes, he did quite well doing so for his other classes. But when it came to math, he was bored to tears. The subject itself was dull and dry, he had a hard time remembering the rules that he swore seemed made up half the time, and Mr. Adams sounded like a boring nature documentary narrator. With all of this combined, half an hour of class passed and Liam looked down to find that he’d been doodling. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. So much for taking notes.  
  
He glanced down at the drawing again, brow furrowing as he realised it was starting to look familiar. He stole a quick glance at his sleeping friend, cheeks heating as he discovered he’d been sketching Theo’s soft looking lips and the bridge of his nose. The other boy didn’t move a muscle, breathing out slowly through his nose while Liam studied him. His fingers itched to keep drawing, to bring Theo’s face to life on paper, but the last thing he needed was his friend finding out about his stupid little crush on him.  
  
He flipped the page to a fresh one in his notebook, making a mental note to ask Mason for the notes that afternoon. His best friend took notes almost as good as Theo’s. He’d had to rely on him once or twice when Theo had been sick. Tapping his pencil lightly against the edge of the desk, he looked around the room to try and find something else to draw. Unfortunately, his gaze was continuously drawn back to Theo soundly sleeping. He looked adorable. Liam wanted to reach out and gently ruffle his hair, to stroke his fingers along his jaw for a single second to find out if it was as sharp as it looked. He needed to snap himself out of it and do something else to keep his hands busy before he did something dumb.  
  
He reached slowly for the edge of Theo’s notebook sticking out beneath his head, bringing his pencil down onto the paper. Chewing his inner cheek, he tipped his head to the side and a slow grin spread. He’d always thought Theo might look adorable in a flower crown. Now was his chance.  
  
Scratching his pencil gently against the paper so he didn’t disturb his friend, he slowly began to draw the beginnings of a flower chain. It was simple daisies with their stems looped together, nothing extraordinary. If he’d had more time, he would have alternated flowers and added details through shading and smudging the lines. If there was something other than lacrosse that Liam was damn proud of, it would be his artistic abilities.  
  
As he concluded the stem on the third flower and began the outline for a fourth, a yardstick sharply landed at the end of the desk and Theo’s eyes snapped open and held his gaze. “Mr. Dunbar and Mr. Raeken,” their teacher began, “how nice of you to join the real world again. Since my lecture doesn’t seem to be reaching you back here, perhaps a change of scenery will help. To the front, Mr. Raeken.”  
  
‘ _Sorry_ ,’ Liam mouthed as Theo sat up and grabbed his notebook. The other boy smiled slightly and shook his head, shrugging one shoulder as he took his pencil and headed for the front of the classroom. Mr. Adams followed him and Liam sighed, flipping back to his drawing of Theo from before. At least he could finish this instead of trying to focus on taking notes. He doubted the teacher would bother checking in on him again. It wasn’t as though he expected Liam to be a truly exceptional student. He managed to get by in this class, only thanks to Theo’s notes and Mason’s brutal study sessions.  
  
The next few minutes crawled by, mathematical theories bouncing off his ears as he worked on adding the details of Theo’s mole to his picture. As he began to finish shading, the end of the pencil snapped and he let out a huff. He waited until Mr. Adams was walking the room again before he flipped his notebook over and started toward the pencil sharpener. He walked down the middle aisle between lab tables, turning to greet Theo when the words got stuck in his throat.  
  
The football player wasn’t even bothering to pretend he was taking notes. Instead, Theo’s focus was on whatever he was drawing. Liam took a step closer and Theo tensed, covering the page with his arm before looking up. The guarded look immediately fell away and his face transformed, lighting up with a proud smile as he moved his arm to show Liam what he’d done. Joining the chain of daisies on the page, Theo had attempted to draw more flowers around the outer edges of his paper and it was beginning to look more like a meadow.  
  
“Nice one,” Liam grinned and offered his hand for a fist bump.  
  
“Mr. Dunbar,” Mr. Adams called from the back of the room. Rolling his eyes hard enough to make Theo chuckle, Liam turned on his heel and trudged his way back to his seat. As he flipped over his notebook, the boy in front of him turned around and offered him a folded piece of paper. He opened it, raising an eyebrow and looking up from Theo’s small meadow of flowers.  
  
‘ _Help?_ ’ The other boy mouthed back at him, grinning sheepishly.  
  
Liam glanced to make sure the teacher was occupied before smirking at Theo and nodding, eyes drawn down to the piece of paper in front of him. It was quite pretty actually. Theo had drawn a whole range of flowers, from lilies to sunflowers and even a lupine towards the back.  
  
He’d never seen a meadow quite like this before, but the way Theo had shaded the flowers, some dark and some light, spoke to him of delicate purples and bold oranges, with white daisies interspersed throughout.  
  
Looking up at Theo, he gave him an impressed smile and Theo ducked back around. But even from back here, Liam could see the way his lips were turned up. He was practically beaming. He studied him a moment longer, feeling his heart flutter slightly, before looking back down at the paper.  
  
He added a few details here and there, picturing the meadow in his mind; the sun shining down and warming his skin, a light breeze tickling through the flowers, white puffy clouds drifting across a bright blue sky.  
  
Liam could see himself there so clearly that before he’d even realised it, he’d drawn in a picnic blanket with a stick figure lying down on top of it. There was room for another stick figure, and Liam bit on his lip, glancing up at Theo.  
  
The other boy sensed his gaze and glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow at him questioningly, green eyes twinkling. Liam smiled and looked back down. In his mind, Theo was sitting there beside him, green eyes looking up at the sky and closing slowly as he soaked in the warm sun.  
  
“Fuck it,” he whispered, drawing the second figure and folding it in half before he could second guess himself. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he waited until Mr Adams had his back turned before leaning forward, tapping the boy in front of him on the shoulder. He glanced back, rolling his eyes when he saw the paper being offered. “To Theo please,” he whispered.  
  
He watched anxiously as it was slowly passed forward every time the teacher turned away, until finally the girl behind Theo slipped it into his hand and he opened it.  
  
Theo studied for what felt like an age, and Liam wanted to sink down in his seat and disappear. He’d gone too far, ruined everything. Theo would ask Mr Adams to move him to a different seat and he’d never talk to him again. Panic was fully setting in, and Liam clenched his hands into fists, closing his eyes to focus on just breathing in and out.  
  
 _Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Inhale. Hold. Exhale._  
  
Slowly, he calmed down, until he could open his eyes again. The panic had receded significantly, but he still felt anxious as he looked to the front of the room.  
  
Theo was bent over the piece of paper, pencil moving. Liam frowned. _What was he doing?_  
  
Just as Liam’s anxiety began to climb once more, Theo turned around and slid the note to the girl behind him. A moment passed and the note began to move down the chain, finally reaching the boy in front of Liam. He scoffed lightly and turned in his chair, eyes rolling hard as he held the note between two fingers. Liam reached for it, jumping as a thick hand plucked it from midair.  
  
“Mr. Raeken, Mr. Dunbar, this is not the fourth grade. Since you wish to behave like gossiping schoolgirls, you will both serve a half hour of detention this afternoon.” Mr. Adams declared. He crumpled the note in his hand and walked to the bin at the rear exit of the room, tossing it without another word. Liam turned just in time to see Theo’s scarlet face turning away from his and his heart fluttered. He needed to know what was on that note.  
  
He spent the last fifteen minutes of class fidgeting in his seat, praying that his classmates wouldn’t toss anything into the bin. Luck seemed to be on his side. As the final bell rang, Liam lurched out of his seat and ducked behind a girl as he reached down into the trash can and fished out the note. When he looked up again, Mr. Adams was shaking his head in disapproval and Theo was already gone.  
  
Frowning, he tucked the note into his pocket and hurried off to his English class where he could take a look at the drawing before the bell rang. He slipped through the crowd of students milling about in the halls, muttering apologies as he eagerly climbed the stairs to his next class. He was the first one in the room and he quickly took his usual seat, sliding the note from his pocket and smoothing it out. His gaze drifted over the thought bubble Theo had drawn over the stick figures, but it wasn’t the first thing to catch his eye.  
  
The stick figure he’d pictured to be Theo had been added to, a football jersey with Theo’s number covering his body and heart eyes drawn on his face. They were clearly directed at Liam, the head adjusted and tilted ever so slightly to the side. A flower crown was perched lopsidedly on his head and, from there, a stem spiraled up to a flower that was shaped oddly to make the word ‘ _date?_ ’ fit perfectly in the middle.  
  
Liam’s heart skipped a beat. _Date?_ Did Theo actually mean that? It couldn’t have been an accident, there was no way. Which meant…  
  
Theo fucking Raeken wanted to go on a date with him.  
  
The noise that escaped Liam resembled a squeal and he blushed as he realised he wasn’t alone in the room. Ducking his head, he looked down at the paper again and felt his heart swell. Theo felt something for him. Liam hadn’t dared to hope for more, but here Theo was, proving that he wanted something else in their friendship. It was enough to make Liam’s heart beat a little faster and his palms start to sweat.  
  
What was he supposed to say? The answer was obviously yes. But how? Did he doodle another thought bubble? Have his stick figure beaming and trying to nod? No, that was ridiculous and impossible to draw. So what was he supposed to do? How? He chewed the inside of his cheek and folded the note as the bell rang, sliding it under his binder. He had two more class periods before detention. He had time to figure it out.  
  
Time crawled by, the minutes ticking at an agonising pace, and Liam was ready to feign sickness and go home when the last five minutes of the day finally hit. He packed up his belongings and stared down at the note he had yet to answer, huffing lightly as nothing came to him. He couldn’t return the note to Theo like this.  
  
Rationally, he knew he could pretend he’d never seen the note. But he wanted Theo to know he had. He wanted to make sure the other boy understood that Liam reciprocated his feelings times ten. Hell, he wanted to shout it at the top of his lungs.  
  
Okay, so maybe that was a _bit_ dramatic. But the pointed remained: Liam wanted to say yes to the date.  
  
He picked up his pencil and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening them. He could do this. All he had to do was say yes. Tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek, he set to work on his reply.  
  
The final bell rang and he set down his pencil a couple of minutes later, beaming proudly as he folded the note shut. He grabbed his book bag and tossed it over his shoulder, making his way back downstairs to the Math classroom. He caught sight of Theo beating him there and grinned, tightening the hold on the note in his pocket. Time for the moment of truth.  
  
Pulling out the note, he dropped it on the table where Theo had sat down and offered him a sheepish smile. The other boy raised an eyebrow, a rosy colour tinting his cheeks, and slowly unfolded the note. Liam had doodled a simple banner at the top streaming behind a tiny model airplane with one simple word.  
  
 _Yes_.  
  
He went to slide into the seat beside him, but a sharp cough interrupted their moment, Mr Adams staring them down from where he sat at the front of the classroom.  
  
“Mr. Raeken, you may sit at the back of the room. Mr. Dunbar, you’re up here,” he instructed, “right in front of me.”  
  
Theo got up and moved with a sigh, walking to the back of the room. Liam thought about arguing, but the last thing he wanted was to prolong their detention. Theo, with the combination of the hard game and the probable anxiety of waiting all day for Liam’s answer, looked absolutely wrecked, and he didn’t want to make it any worse.  
  
He plopped down in the seat that Mr Adams was pointing to, staring him down. He just quirked an eyebrow at him and then pulled out some marking, uncapping the red pen with a rather worrying smirk. Liam prayed that they weren’t his classes tests from the week before.  
  
Quickly, he grew bored, but every time he went to turn around, Mr Adams looked up and cleared his throat. Instead, he pulled out some paper and began doodling again, feeling the back of his neck itch from Theo’s eyes on him.  
  
Time passed at a crawl. Every time Liam glanced up at the clock, he swore that they’d actually gone back in time, rather than forwards. Half an hour turned into three at the very least, and Liam was in pure agony. He burned to look at Theo, to see if he’d read this all right or not.  
  
By the time the clock was approaching the thirty minute mark, Liam was vibrating in his seat, giving Mr Adams a pleading look. The teacher ignored it as long as he could, but finally looked up at him with a sigh.  
  
“Oh just get out of here already,” he grumbled. “I can’t concentrate with you two looking at me like that.”  
  
Liam jumped out of his seat, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Theo was suddenly at his side, and Liam, in his rush to leave the room, grabbed his hand and almost sprinted out before the teacher changed his mind.  
  
The door shut behind them, and Liam slumped against the nearby lockers with a sigh, turning towards Theo with a relieved grin.  
  
He found him looking down at their intertwined fingers, a light blush on his cheeks. Liam’s pulse increased.  
  
 _Wait… He was holding Theo’s hand. They were holding hands. Oh god._  
  
Slowly, Theo looked up and met his gaze, and they stared at each other, both looking slightly panicked. Theo had indirectly asked him on a date, and Liam had indirectly said yes, but now that they were face to face, their bravery had disappeared.  
  
Liam took a shaky breath. He felt like his palm was starting to sweat, but he didn’t want to let go. Didn’t want to give Theo the idea that he wasn't’t interested. Because he was very, very interested. That crush that he’d been denying all term was almost choking him now, nervous excitement thrumming through his body.  
  
He had no idea what to say, but he knew that whatever it was, he didn’t want to say it in the hallway.  
  
“Come on,” he said quietly, offering Theo a reassuring smile that probably looked more constipated than anything else, but regardless Theo nodded and they walked down the hallway, still hand in hand.  
  
Liam glanced at him, finding Theo already watching him and they both ducked their hands and looked away. Liam felt his lips tugging up into a smile, and when he braved another look at Theo, he found a silly grin on his face as well. He squeezed Theo’s hand and the other boy squeezed back, and Liam beamed at him.  
  
Maybe he was a dork, but Theo didn’t seem to mind.  
  
He walked Theo out to his car, and Theo dropped his hand to unlock it and put his bag in the back. Liam felt the loss like an ache, but Theo didn’t walk away. Instead, he turned back towards him with a hopeful look on his face.  
  
“Can I drive you home?” Theo asked.  
  
Well, he had missed his usual ride home with Mason. He’d planned on just walking, but this was way better.  
  
“Sure,” he agreed easily. “Thank you, Theo.”  
  
He threw his bag in beside Theo’s and then climbed into the passenger seat of his truck, watching as Theo walked around the car and then got in the other side, putting on his seatbelt and turning on the engine.  
  
“Where to?” He asked, glancing at him, a smile lingering on his lips. Liam glanced at his phone. It was still really early; neither of his parents would be home from work yet, and he wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to Theo, not yet.  
  
“Want to grab a milkshake?” Liam asked, turning his phone over in his lap to give Theo his undivided attention.  
  
“Yeah,” the other boy agreed quickly. His cheeks were tinted pink immediately after, a shy smile gracing his lips. “If you want?”  
  
“I’ve got time until my parents get home. We don’t really do the whole family dinner thing, we get by on our own.” Liam explained. “So shakes?”  
  
“I’d like that.” Theo reached for the gear shift, checking his rear view mirror before pulling out of his parking spot. “You can change the music if you want,” he said with a small nod at the radio. Liam glanced at the display and shook his head, reaching for the volume instead.  
  
“I love this song.”  
  
Theo shot him a surprised look as he started singing, and Liam waggled his eyebrows, belting it out as Theo drove them to the mall. Theo shook his head but smiled, fingers tapping on the steering wheel to the beat of the song. The only way it could’ve been better was if he’d joined in, but not everyone had Liam’s musical talent for sounding like a strangled cat being set on fire.  
  
They pulled into the mall car park and got out, Liam feeling buoyantly happy when Theo walked around the car and slipped his hand into Liam’s, flushing again. Liam had never met someone so prone to blushing. It was adorable.  
  
“Is this okay?” Theo asked, looking a little nervous. Liam squeezed his hand, beaming at him.  
  
“More than okay,” he assured him. Theo looked pleased at this, and they walked into the mall hand in hand.  
  
The food court was busy, being so soon after school had finished, and they wandered around to look at the choices. Some of Theo’s friends tried to wave him over from a nearby table. If Liam had been worried that Theo would pull away when they saw other people from school, Theo soothed that anxiety almost straight away. He waved to his friends but not once did his hand leave Liam’s, and it filled his chest with warmth. This was an actual thing. Theo actually did like him.  
  
They bought burgers and shakes, and Theo led him away from where his friends were sitting to somewhere a bit quieter, sliding into a seat across from him and giving him a shy smile. Liam was starting to get addicted to that smile.  
  
“You sure you don’t want us to sit with your friends?” Liam checked.  
  
Theo looked startled, glancing over to the group of them and then back at Liam. “No! Why? Did you want to?”  
  
Liam chuckled. “No,” he assured him. “I like this better. Just us. It’s no picnic in a meadow of flowers, but it’s still very nice.”  
  
“Oh,” Theo said, blinking rapidly and then slowly smiling. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Not quite the romantic first date I had planned, but this is good.”  
  
He raised an eyebrow at him as he took a sip from his strawberry milkshake, licking his lips afterwards. “And what did you have planned, Theo Raeken?” Theo coloured, head ducking down and Liam leaned forward eagerly, waiting for Theo to look up at him. “Tell me,” he whispered.  
  
Theo shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but as cool and confident as he was, he couldn’t quite pull it off. “I was thinking somewhere a little fancier, where we weren’t surrounded by crying children and my friends taking snapchats of us,” he admitted. Liam looked over at them, smirking when they all suddenly found something else to look at. “Idiots,” Theo said fondly.  
  
He looked at Theo again, drinking him in, trying to reconcile the image he had of him in his mind with the reality of what he was seeing. Theo was sweet, and funny and a bit of a dork; it was endearing. “You’re different to how I thought you would be,” Liam observed.  
  
Theo’s eyes widened. “In a bad way?” He asked nervously.  
  
Liam shook his head. “Oh no, definitely not in a bad way.” Theo nodded, though he still looked unsure of himself. Liam reached forward to take his hand over the table, intertwining their fingers. Theo looked down at it, chewing on his bottom lip, and Liam stared at his lips, wondering, not for the first time, how they would feel against his.  
  
It took him a long moment to realise that he’d been staring at them, and his eyes flicked up to find Theo watching him.  
  
He cleared his throat nervously, pulling away. “I guess we should eat before these before they get cold,” he said, picking up his burger. Theo watched him a moment longer before nodding, picking up his own.  
  
They ate in silence, just looking up every now and again and ducking down when they got caught, cheeks tinting and lips turning up. Liam could feel his heart hammering in his chest with nervous excitement. He was pretty sure that he hadn’t imagined Theo’s gaze lingering on his lips as well.  
  
Once their burgers were devoured and their milkshakes drunk, they put their rubbish in the bin and hovered awkwardly.  
  
“Do you want to come over for a bit?” Liam asked, chewing on his bottom lip.  
  
Theo nodded immediately. “Yeah sure.”  
  
This time, it was Liam who took Theo’s hand in his, leading him back outside. He was eager to get home, to see where this might lead. Everyone knew that first dates ended with a first kiss.  
  
It took an agonising five minutes for Theo to drive from the mall to Liam’s house, following his directions to turn right here and then left up there, time crawling at a sluggish pace. Liam was almost bouncing with nervous energy by the time Theo pulled up out the front of his house and he almost fell out of the car in his excitement. He grabbed his bag out of the backseat and rocked on his heels as Theo got out of the car a bit more slowly, locking it up.  
  
He followed Liam into the house, kicking off his own shoes after Liam did and setting his phone and keys beside Liam’s on the hallway table. Liam left the lights off as he lead the way to his room in the hopes that Theo didn’t notice any of the baby photos that covered the walls, but from the way Theo was smirking as he let him into his room, he didn’t think he’d been successful.  
  
Liam threw his bag down into a corner of the room, sitting on the end of his bed and watching as Theo stood by the open door, glancing around.  
  
“This is a nice room,” Theo said, eyes sweeping over every inch of it. He wandered towards the bookcase, fingers trailing over the titles. He moved past it to observe Liam’s desk, smirking at the mess that covered it. His fingers hovered over a stack of papers in one corner, slowly picking up the top one.  
  
Liam flushed.  
  
“Wait,” Theo said, reading it and then picking up the next one, and the next, before turning to look at him. “You kept all of these?”  
  
It was all of their notes, all of the pieces of paper they’d passed back and forth during class.  
  
Liam squirmed. “Yes,” he admitted.  
  
“Why?”  
  
He looked up at Theo, who was setting the papers back down and then watching him, waiting for an answer. “Isn’t it obvious?” He asked.  
  
Theo moved closer. “Pretend it isn’t.”  
  
Liam’s heart was pounding so fast that he felt a little faint. “I like you,” he whispered.  
  
Suddenly, Theo was there in front of him, grabbing his hand and pulling him up to stand in front of him.  
  
“Good,” Theo said, swallowing Liam’s surprised squeak as he leaned in, kissing him softly on the lips.  
  
Liam froze for a second, mind going completely blank.  
  
 _Theo was in his room._  
  
 _Theo was kissing him._  
  
 _Theo was pulling away…_  
  
Making a noise of protest, Liam grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back in, returning the kiss. Theo sighed into his mouth, and then he was smiling. They both were, and Liam pulled back, eyes flickering open to find a silly grin on Theo’s lips, the same he was probably sporting on his.  
  
Liam dropped his hold on Theo’s shirt so that he could wrap his arms around Theo instead, nuzzling into his neck. Theo’s arms looped around his hips, holding him just as close, and Liam melted into the contact, feeling deliriously happy.  
  
***  
  
Theo ended up staying much later than he’d planned, the two of them snuggling on Liam’s bed and watching a movie, occasionally glancing at each other and smiling all over again, exchanging soft kisses. By the time Theo had to leave, Liam’s jaw ached from smiling and his heart was full. He didn't want him to leave, but he was already nearly falling asleep, and Liam couldn't in good conscience let him stay any longer.  
  
Before he left Liam’s room, though, he’d pulled a wrinkled piece of paper out of his pocket, smoothing it out and placing it with the rest of their notes. Liam looked at it, blushing a little at the dozens of hearts that Theo had drawn around the banner.  
  
Theo looked pleased at his reaction, kissing his cheek. Liam beamed at him, and he took Theo’s hand, leading him back through the house. In the kitchen, he could hear voices and they snuck past, suppressing giggles. It was far too early for Theo to meet his parents.  
  
He shut the front door as quietly as he could, watching as Theo pulled on his shoes. “See you tomorrow?” Liam asked.  
  
Theo smiled at him, his beautiful green eyes lit with happiness. “Definitely,” he agreed. “You want me to pick you up in the morning for school?” He stood up, waiting for Liam’s answer.  
  
Liam’s eyes lit up. He liked getting a ride with Mason, but now that he was dating Corey he’d been relegated to the back seat, and driving with Theo would be much more fun. He opened his arms and Theo stepped into them immediately.  
  
“Yes please,” he agreed, rewarding him with a kiss. Theo returned it, pulling him closer and nipping at his lower lip, sucking it into his mouth and releasing it with a pop. Liam’s eyes went lidded, an entirely different warmth flooding his body.  
  
“Give me your number and I’ll text you when I leave,” Theo suggested.  
  
Liam nodded, and they exchanged numbers, Theo ringing to make sure he had the right one. He was about to leave when Liam stopped him.  
  
“Wait,” he said, opening up the camera on his phone. “I need a picture for your contact.”  
  
“Of course,” Theo agreed.  
  
He moved in closer as Liam held the camera towards him, snapping a quick photo, before flipping the camera and wrapping an arm around him, leaning his head on Theo’s shoulder as he took a picture of them together. They both looked at it, and Liam inwardly flailed at how good they looked together.  
  
“Send that to me,” Theo said, dragging his eyes from the phone to look at him. “I want to keep that one.”  
  
“Sure,” Liam agreed easily, pocketing the phone.  
  
They kissed one last time before Theo walked back to his car, waving as he drove of. Liam watched him leave, feeling a little forlorn as the truck turned the corner and disappeared.  
  
He walked back to his room, hands cupping his own cheeks, flushed with warmth.  
  
Falling back onto his bed, he smiled up at his ceiling.

 

He, Liam Dunbar, had kissed Theo Raeken, and it had been perfect, better than he could possibly have imagined.


End file.
